Car-heater



(No Model.)

Pim-242,299.

E E' GOLD.l 3 Sheets-Sheet 1,

Car Heater.

Patented May 31,1881.

EL* E INVENTQR:

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Bra.- GOLD. Car Heater.

Patented May A31,1881

INVEN TDR:

(No Modem No. 242,299. y

N. PEYERS. Phvivlilhogrdphor. Wahnm. D. C.

(No Model.) s sn@eues- -slweu 3. Il.4 E. GOLD.

Garl Heater. No. 242,2995 l Patented May 31, 1881.

INVENTUR wdf f%% 1./

N- FETERS. "wia-Lithograph. Wzlhnglun D. C.

lUNiTnD STATES PATENT Ormea ED'VARD E. GOLD, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

CAR-HEATER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 242,299, dated May 31, 1881.

Application filed February 24, 1881.

To all yu'hom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD E. GOLD, late of New York city, but now a resident ofBrooklyn, Kings county, New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar- Heaters, of which the following is a specification.

The means heretofore employed for heating railway-cars, as is well known, are mainly of three types-first, stoves located in the ends of the ears; secondly,special stoves organized to heat a circulating hot-water coil which extends from the stove along the tloor of the car and is looped into lateral bends under the seats; thirdly, steam-pipes coupled from car to car ot' the train and supplied from the engine, to which latter class my improvement belongs.

Stoves have one advantage in that they tend to ventilato the cars, as well as heat them, but are defective in that they confine this heating` and ventilating too much in certain parts of the car and do not secure an even diffusion thereof throughout the car; but their most serious objection is that in case of accident or overturning of the car their coals are liable to become scattered and to set fire to the car, which is well known to be a most serious danger and a great cause of loss of life in railway accidents. While this latter objection applies equally to both classes of stoves mentioned,yet the watercoil stove is a great improvement over the common stoves in effecting a diffusion of the heat throughout the ear, yet is in turn defective in that the ventilation is not diffused equally with the heating, and for the further reason that the heat is circulated in an nnbroken water circuit, and can hence be increased orreduced only atits source, (the stove,) and will then be increased or reduced uniformly throughout the car, which may be insufficient for some passengers and too much for others.

The steam-heating system referred to as heretofore adopted has been applied chiefly to cars intended for transient travel and having seats arranged lengthwise in each side of the car, and the steam-heating pipe has hence been arranged lengthwise of the car under the seats and inclosed in a casing or larger pipe filled with sand to diffuse the heat, the ends of Athis steam -pipebeing prolonged under thel platforms and coupled from car to car and sup- (No model.)

plied with exhaust or live steam from the engine. In this case, however, no means have been provided for apportionin g the heat to any one seat or portion ofthe car independent of any other portion, and no means of ventilation in connection with the heater-pipes has been provided.

One of the common objections to all steamheating as usually conducted is the deadness of the heating effect, as the air is simply heated without being renewed or the apartment ven tilated by the heating action, which is very objectionable. Another difficulty found with the steam-heating of cars has been the freezing ofthe water of condensation in the external parts of the steam-pipe or in the couplings between the ears. 1

My invention aims to so improve the steamheating of cars as to enable the heat to be distributed independentlyto each seat and there apportioned or regulated to suit the passenger without affecting the heat in other parts of the car, and it contemplates more particularly seats arranged transversely of the car, and further aims to secure an effective and distributed ventilation throughout the car, whereby the air shall be both warmed and renewed; also to prevent the clogging of the pipes by frozen water of condensation.

To these ends my invention consists in the combination, with a car having transverselyarranged seats, of a main steam-pipe arranged longitudinally in the sides of the car, in combination with lateral independent branches eX- tending therefrom under the several transversely-arran ged seats, with means of regulating or apportioning the supply of heat from said main-pipe to said branches, whereby the heat at any one seat lnay be raised, lowered, or entirely shut off without affecting the heat at other seats or the flow of heat through'the main pipe to the next car.

My improvements also include small air flues or shafts in or on the sides of the cars at one or more points arranged over said main steampipe, or inclosing a branch pipe rising therefrom into said flue, whereby a draft is established to draw the vitiated air from the car, and thus effect the ventilation thereof simultaneously with the heatin".

The improvement further consists in auto- IOD matic traps arranged upon the drooping part ofthe main steam-pipe at the coupling between the cars, whereby the water of condensation is removed as fast as formed, and in the most effective manner to avoid freezing and clogging of the pipes. y

My invention also consists in certain details of construction, as hereinafter fully set forth.

Figure l of the annexed drawings presents a fragmentary side elevation of an ordinary railway passenger-car, having a part of one side broken away to show the interior. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of a portion ot' the car, clearly showing the arrangement of the steam-heating pipes in relation with the seats of the cars. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of one-half of the car; Fig. 4, a similar view, showing a modification, and Fig. 5 an enlarged detail view of one of the branch heaters. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view of the coupling and trap and Fig. 7, a sectional detail view, showing the manner of applying steam-pipes to new cars.

The body ofthe caris presumed to be of the usual construction, and hence requires no description; and it may be observed that the seats a. a are arranged in parallel transverse order, as usual in cars intended for long travel, the seats being extended from each side of the ear, with a central aisle between the two rows in the usual manner, as illustrated.

Along each side of the car, and near the floor thereof, is arranged a nia-in steam-pipe, b,which pipe is preferably of one and one-halt1 inch in diameter. Each end ot' this pipe makes a lat eral bend or turn in the corners ot' the car, as shown best in Fig. 2, and thence extends downward through the oor, passes under the platform and is terminated with a drooping section of flexible rubber pipe, c, which is terminated with a suitable union or coupling, d, which couples to a similar construction on the next car. rEhe main steam -pipe ot' one car is thus connected with the main pipe of the next, the initial end of the series being of course supplied from the boiler of the engine, or from any other suitable source, with either live or exhaust steam-preferably the former. In ease of live steam the terminal end ofthe steam-pipe ou the last ear will be closed by a trap, but in case of exhaust-steam the end will be left open to avoid back-pressure. It may now be noted that each side of the car is supplied with a distinct steam-pipe, so that the steam is sent out from its source in two streams, one on either side of the train, so that if the pipes on one side of the train should become inoperative from any cause the heat from the opposite side will suffice to warm the cars.

A series of distinct lateral branches or radiators, E, corresponding in number to the seats, project at right angles from the main pipe b and extend lengthwise under the respective seats, terminating at the aisle end thereof, as fully shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4. These branches or radiators are placed in recumbent or horizontal posit-ion, parallel with the car-floor or nearly so, but slightly higher at the aisle end, so as to insure a drainage of the water of condensation back into the main pipe. These branches may be constructed in any suitable way, but I prefer to make them, as shown best in Fig. 4, of a bent or U-pipe, e, having each leg opening intoa double T, g, on the main pipe, while the looped part is inelosed in a sealed casing or large pipe, hf, filled with some non-freezing or slowly-freezingliquid-such as brine, glyeerine, and water, &c. Each leg of the U-pipe where it opens from the main is provided with a valve, f, whereby the flow of heat into the branch may be regulated as desired,or shut o'eompletely. In using exhauststeam these valves need not be employed.

The main pipe a being one and one-half inch in diameter, the U-pipe e is preferably one-fourth inch, and the casing H is preferably made of pipe three inches in diameter, having its ends closed by screw heads or eapsi 1T, through one of which the legs of the U-pipe project and are tightly secured therein by taper screw-bushings k k, as shown in Fig. 4. This proportion of parts is not ofcourse essential, butit is practically good, and, as will be observed, reduces each radiator lo a small and compact size, whereas radiators are usually made too large for the space to be heated, causing the space to become unbearablyhot before the occupant is aware of it. This cannot 0ceur in my improved car'heater, as all the radiators are made quite small, yet distributed to each seat of the car, so that the heat is well dill'used in a pleasant effective warmth throughout the car. Yet the local heat at the heater of each seat is sufliciently strong to make an effectual foot-warmer, for it will be observed on reference to Figs. 1 and 2 that each heater is placed centrally beneath or a little eccentric to the seat, so as to convenien tly serve asa foot-warmin g rest for the passengers on the seat next behind. The easing h surrounding the steam U-pipe @absorbs the heat tliereofand radiates it gradually outward, and ithas the effect, so to speak, of diluting the heat and radiating it from a larger surface, which gives an equal warmth, but in a diffused manner, and prevents the contact of the air of the car with very highly heated surfaces, as would be the case were the pipe uninclosed, which would in a measure injure the healthful quality of the air.

According to my system it is designed that that the branches E only shall act to heat the interior ofthe car, the main pipe b not being designed to radiate heat into the car at all, but merely to convey the heat from car to car, and to each of the branches in the cars, and as the flow of heatinto all of these branches is controllable, the temperature may always be kept at a pleasant degree within the car, and localized to suit the passengers at each seat, being thus an important improvement over former heaters, and especially adapted for long travel. In order therefore to prevent lOO IOS

IIO

IIS

the main pipe from radiating its heat into the car it may be well covered by lion-conducting material, as shown at b in Figs. 3 and 5, but when the lnain pipe is arranged under a baseboard, l, as shown in Fig. 4,01 in the walls of the car, as shown in Fie'. 7, the heat radiating` from it passes up the Ventilating-fines a and does notheat theinterior ofthe car. Thus it will be seen that the main steanrpipes will never disturb the easy regulation of the heat in each car and at each sea-t. Furthermore, the main steam-current will thus be kept quite hot as it should be in its flow from car to car, and all the water of condensation may be collected, trapped, and discharged from each branch of' the double Ts gg, which will be very effective in preventing all clogging or freezing of the pipes even in very cold weather, as by this means the main part of the water ot' condensation will be taken from the interior of the car, where it cannot freeze, even under the most unfavorable conditions.

Besides distributing the heat lthroughout the car in a manner whereby it may be easily regulated or localized in any part of the car, as just described, my system also includes means for renewing the air, or Ventilating vthe carin a similar distributed manner simultaneously with the heating. To do this, instead of' covering the main pipe with non-conducting materiahit may, in the construction of new cars, be placed between the inner and outer casings ofthe wall of the car-body, which will thus not only inclose the pipe in a protecting. air-jacket, so to speak, but the pipe will heat the air in this space, and thus tend to produce a draft between the casings of the car-sides, which may be utilized for a most effective distributed ventilation by making internal openings near the floor of the car through the inner casing,and cx tcrnal openings through the outer casing near the roof' of the car. (Sec Fig. 3.)

In old cars the main pipe may be inclosed alongits length by a base-boarding, l, as shown in Fig. 4, which may be perforated to admit air to the space between the casings, so as to produce a draft which will draw the vitiated air from the bottoni of the car up between the casings and out through the same at the top, which air will be replaced by pure air entering bythe innumerable crevices of doors and windows, thus renewing the air gradually and continuously at all parts of the car, yet in so well diffused a manner as to produce no sensible draft. In the practical application of my heater, however, to existing cars, I prefer to arrange the main pipe as shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3 of the drawings, and protect it with non-conductin g material; and at certain points along the side of the car I extend a vertical branch, m, therefrom, preferably a U-pipe, as shown in Fie'. 1, into a vertical flue or shaft, fn, in or on the side of the car, which opens from the interior of the car near the floor, and also at the top, if desired, by means of' a register, and discharges outwardly through the .is not the case a special flue of sheet metal or thin wood may ovcrlie the inner casing between the windows, but beingothcrwisc substantially the saine as illustrated, as regards relative arA rangement and operation.

lThe main pipe b preferably inclines from the middle of the car toward each end, so that the condensation gravitates to the external ends of' the pipe, and at the drooping end of the coupling-pipe c, or rather on the coupling cl itself, which is necessarily the lowest part of the inain-pipe and the part most exposed to the cold, I attach un automatic trap, F, which removes this water of condensation as fast as it accumulates, and before it `can be chilled or frozen. These main traps, thus arranged on the couplings, will, it is believed, be sufficient to keep the main-pipe free from any accumulated water of condensation, and minor traps on the Tsg of the main pipe within the car, (not showin) as before referred to, will not. be required but both may be used, ifdesired, for more certain efficiency.

I prefer to use a trap of well-known forni, as shown best in Fig. 5, in which the waterejecting tube 0, which opens at one end into the coupling d, opens at the opposite end against a flexible metal diaphragm, r, forming the bottoni of a cell, s, charged with a highly-volatile fluid. Hence when the pipe is clear of water the steam will come in contact with the diaphragm, and its heat will thus vaporize lthe volatile fluid and expand the diaphragm against the orificel ofthe tube o, so as to keep .the same closed and prevent the escape of steam. \Vhen, however, any water of condensation accumulates this will be forced by the steam against the diaphragm, and, being colder than the steam, will cause the volatile duid to cool and the diaphragm to contract away from the orifice, thus allowing the water of condensation to escape till the steam again strikes the diaphragm, when it will eX- pand and close the orifice. rIhis trap is pref erabl y turned on Aits side and extended laterally from the coupling, and is supported by a pendent arm, t, from the car-platform, to allow the coupling the necessary swing in turning curves.

In lieu of charging the casings h with aliquid a solid of some kind may be used; but a liquid is preferable, as it insures a better circulation and di'usion of heat.

It may now be appreciated that my iniproved car -heater is peculiarly adapted for large cars intended for longtravel, particularly sleeping and drawing-room cars, which are at present imperfectly ventilated, as it insures a pleasant diffused warmth, together with a cori responding ventilation, and enables the same to be regulated in any part of the car, thus rendering each seat or berth in one car independent of the others, andone car independent ofthe other cars, while it uses the steam in the most economical manner, as is neeessaiy where the steam is supplied from the engine, and at the same time insures the certain removal of the water of condensation to keep the pipes in operative condition.

I am aware that it is not new to cover the main pipes of steam-heating apparatus with noli-conducting casings, and also that main pipes with branches have been used in cars, and therefore I do not broadly claim such coilstructions.

That I claim is-.

l. The combination, with a railway-car having transversely-arranged seats, of a main steam-pipe arranged length wise of the car, and supplied at its initial end with steam from the engine or other source, and left either closed or open at its terminal end, with a series of distinct lateral branches extending therefrom correspondin g to the seats and disposed lengthwise beneath the same, each of said branches being supplied with separate cocks, whereby the heat is supplied to each seat independently of every other seat, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. The combination, with a railway-car constr-acted with an air flue or passage in its walls openingr interiorly and exteriorly, of a heatingpipe projecting into said flue and having both its ends communicating with the main heating-pipe of the car, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination, with a railway-car, ot'a vertical flue, n, in or on the walls thereof,with internal and external openings, the main heating-pipe b and a vertical branch, m, rising therefrom into said flue and having both its ends commuiiicating with the main heatingpipe, and arranged and operating substantially as herein set forth.

4. The combination, with a railway-car provided with steam-heating pipes adapted to be coupled from carto car and supplied from the engine or other source, ofa trap arranged upon the external drooping portion of the main steam-pipes at the coupled ends between the cars, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In combination witll a main steam-pipe running through a car and coupled from car to car, and constructed and arranged, substantially as described, to radiate little or no heat into the car, of a series of distinct lateral branches connected therewith and disposed lengthwise one under each seat of the ear, each of said branches being supplied with separate regulating devices, whereby the heat can be regulated at any seat or cut off from one car without reducing the heat in the next, substantially as specitied. i

6. rIhe combination, with a railway-car, of

the main steam-pipe b, arranged longitudinally thereof, the transversely-arranged seats aI a, and lateial Stettin-branches extending from said main pipe lengthwise beneath each of said seats, with casings h, sealed at both ends, surrounding said branches, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. A heating apparatus for railway-cars, consistingl ofthe main steam-pipe l, U-shaped branches c, opening laterally therefrom', casings It, sealed at both ends, inclosing said branches, and valvesf, controlling the supply to said branches,substantially as herein shown and described.

S. In combination with a car provided with separate heating-pipes under each seat, a main steam-pipe connected with said heating-pipes and passing' through the car in a separate chamber divided from the interior of the saine, said chamber communicating with the venti laiing-lues ofthe car, substantially as and for the purpose sl'iceilied.

El) WARD E. GOLD.

Witnesses CHAs. M. HIGGiNs, W. J. YVEBB. 

